


Dutch's Con

by KellynKupcake



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Specifically described reader, awkward arthur, lewd thoughts, light skinned reader, one bed trope, plus sized reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29370399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KellynKupcake/pseuds/KellynKupcake
Summary: You and Arthur are sent on a recon mission, posing as newly-weds but *GASP* There’s only ONE bed???
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Female Reader, Arthur Morgan/Reader, Arthur Morgan/You
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	Dutch's Con

**Author's Note:**

> As this is a gift for my RDR Secret Cupid, Reader is described very specifically to look like her! Light Skinned, Plus Sized Reader! 
> 
> I hope anyone that's not my Cupid can appreciate this story just as much and have a fun time reading it. 
> 
> This is my RDR Secret Cupid Gift. I really hope you liked it Cupid. I used some of the things you suggested when you answered my ask. Sorry if it seems like I’m roasting you a little bit when Reader is being self-deprecating!!! I swear I’m just repeating what you said and don’t worry spoiler alert. Arthur is SO into you. ;)

Arthur glowered at the back of his horse’s neck as she took long, laboured steps onwards towards the town of Oakseed.

He could tell the poor old girl was feeling the heat more than he was and he vowed to treat her to a sugar cube and good grooming once he arrived at his destination.

His eyes flicked to his left he heard you grumble under your breath. The humidity was suffocating, and he wondered briefly if you were suffering a little more than his poor old horse.

You were a relatively new addition to the gang but he felt he had gotten to know you well enough in the last few months for you both to work side by side. At least, that’s what he had told himself after the choice had been taken away.

You were to spend a few nights in the town closest to camp. Playing the part of newly-weds and scoping the scene for rich old bastards that would be easy to con.

Dutch had been so sure that you would work well together. Arthur had his doubts. He had voiced them vehemently and repeatedly but they’d fallen on deaf ears. Dutch had insisted that this recon mission was only to be pulled off by the two of you alone and when Hosea had put his paper down long enough to back him up, Arthur had realised he had lost.

He looked to you now, riding alongside him. The sweat he felt running down his own back was gathering on your neck and chest and the heat he felt burning against his bare arms was currently tinting your face a light shade of red.

You wiped at your forehead with the back of your palm. Smearing sweat and dirt together in a feeble attempt to stop it from dripping into your eyes.

You blinked furiously in the afternoon sun, wishing you’d thought to bring a hat. Even the sparse shade of the trees along the edge of the trail didn’t shield you from the unrelenting heat. You licked at your cracked lips. Gritting your teeth as you were reminded that you’d drank the last of your water not too long ago.

Flies buzzed around your face and you felt yourself grow agitated as you let go of the reigns briefly to swat at them.

You heard a sniff of laughter from your right and turned to face your traveling companion with an incredulous scowl.

“It ain’t that bad.” Arthur said simply, his tone light as he shooed a large fly away from his own face.

“I’m not from here… I ain’t used to the heat.” You croaked, throat dry from breathing in the dust that had been kicked up by your horses hooves.

“I can tell.” He replied plainly, mirth in his tone as he looked back to the road with a smirk on his lips.

You watched him for a moment, feeling silly for your frustration but unable to curb is as another fly made a beeline for one of your nostrils. You swatted at it, growling angrily and jolting slightly as your horse decided she’d had enough.

She snorted angrily, hooves stomping the ground in agitation as she began to disobey you.

You were never fantastic with horses to begin with. But after your old faithful had passed away on a mission, you’d purchases the first horse you came across just to be able to get back to the gang.

She was moody and stubborn. She could tell you were inexperienced and liked to test your control. That coupled with the stifling heat, you were surprised she had tolerated you this long.

You held the reigns tight, thighs clenching onto your saddle as you cooed her softly and tried desperately to stay in your seat.

Arthur was at your side in an instant. His own horse exhaled softly as he steered her towards you. The large mare not batting an eye as your own horse fidgeted uncomfortably at the proximity of the other animal.

“Here.” Arthur said gently, his calf brushing against yours as he leaned in against your side. Leather covered hands with bare fingers encompassed yours as he showed you how to pull the reigns more efficiently. “Like this.” He instructed simply, pulling back on your hands and showing you where to hold them.

“It’s alright girl.” He purred, directed at your horse. “It’s okay.” He assured; your horse seeming to calm at his words alone. His firm grip on your reigns slowing her to a stop. You couldn’t help but swallow thickly at the way his voice reverberated in your ear. “There.” Arthur whispered, slowly handing you back the reigns and turning to face you.

"You gotta’ show her you’re in charge.” He said quietly, voice uncharacteristically gentle.

You nodded in understanding. His face only inches from yours as he pulled his hands away. You turned back to the road quickly, Arthur doing the same. Clearing his throat as he directed his mare back to her side of the road.

Your horse listened to your direction as you subconsciously guided her a little farther from Arthur than you had been before. It was as if you could still feel the heat radiating off his brawny form from your place across the trail.

“Thanks.” You said softly, smiling through your embarrassment as Arthur made a noise of acknowledgment.

The rest of the ride was silent. The soft clip of your horses hooves against the dirt filled the space between you both as you passed through the gateway entrance of the small town.

Arthur directed you towards the small hotel on the end of the main street. He’d stayed there once before and knew where he was going.

You hitched your horses at the post to the left of the hotel and jumped down into the red dirt with a thump. Disturbing the dust and coughing slightly as you breathed it in.

Arthur moved to stand beside you and hovered as you removed the supplies you needed for your stay.

“I can’t wait for a bath.” You sighed as you turned to him, your bag in your arms.

“Mm.” He hummed in agreement. Eyeing your possessions coolly before opening his mouth to speak.

“Listen.” He said awkwardly, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. “We should probably only get the one room.” He said clumsily, making your brow raise at his forwardness.

Arthur watched your face chance, furrowing his own brows before raising them both in surprise as he realised his mistake. “For… For the con.” He explained in a hurried whisper. “Just… for authenticity o’course.” He added quickly, holding out his hands in front of him.

“Of course.” You replied quickly.

“Right.” Arthur nodded.

“Sure.” You smiled with a shrug, trying to break the tension.

Arthur nodded again, clearing his throat uncomfortably as he pulled his hat down further to cover the flush on his cheeks.

You stood there for a moment, unsure what to do now as you waited for him to take the lead. Arthur seemed to follow your train of thought, turning quickly and walking towards the entrance of the hotel.

“Don’t worry.” He chuckled, stopping as you drew closer to the front door. “ You can have the bed.” He clarified.

You stopped just behind him, laughing nervously.

“Oh, I don’t mind.” You said earnestly when you realised he hadn’t been joking.

“Please. I insist.” Arthur said firmly, holding up his hands once more before turning back towards the hotel. You watched him go, frowning at the way he had spoken before sighing inwardly and following in his stead.

“Okay.” You mumbled, fully aware he couldn’t hear you.

You supposed you should have known better than to put yourself out there like that. Arthur was nice enough but he was the type of man that had women throwing themselves at him without him needing to try. You weren’t sure you were even close to his type.

You were on the larger side and your skin was very light considering the amount of time you spent in the sun. All the woman you’d seen Arthur chatting too in the last few months were incredibly thin and at least three shades tanner than yourself.

You cast your gaze onto the ground as you followed Arthur up the front steps of the hotel. A sickening feeling of rejection sinking to the bottom of your stomach as you resigned yourself to keeping your feelings for him locked deep inside.

Arthur stopped in front of you suddenly and you looked up at his handsome face inquisitively as he held out his hand to you.

You took it without thinking, letting yourself be pulled inside and silently swooning at the feel of his fingers intertwined with yours.

Arthur stopped at the front desk, nodding to you once and reminding you without words of the part you were to play in this con as you both waited for the man behind the counter to notice you.

He looked up within a few seconds and you watched in awe as Arthur flashed his charming smile at him.

“Hello.” He began simply, his voice a long drawl as he forced a chipper tone. “The name’s Arthur Callahan.” He said confidently, flashing a toothy smile as his arm slid around your waist as easily as if he had it done it a thousand times before. “And this is my wife Clementine.” He purred, pulling you against his side as he looked back to the man behind the desk. “We’ll need a room for the night and the lady would like a bath.” He ordered, placing a few notes on the desk in front of him and sliding them across to the clerk with the palm of his hand.

The clerk’s eyes widened as he jumped to attention.

“Of course sir.” He agreed, snatching the money roughly from the counter and stuffing it into his pocket. “There’s a room ready at the end of the hall.” He said cheerfully as he placed a key on the counter and slid it into Arthur’s waiting hand. The burly man caught it with ease. “Our bathing facilities are this way ma’am.” The clerk continued, gesturing in the other direction and waiting for you to move first.

You smiled in response. Turning to Arthur and placing one of your bags into his outstretched hand. He had been waiting patiently, as a doting husband would. You caught yourself flushing as the older man turned away with your belongings.

Even if it was all one giant fantasy… You could get used to this.

~

Once you had bathed you headed towards your room. You knocked softly and waited for Arthur to answer. After a minute of silence you tried the handle only to find it still locked. You knocked again, waiting a few seconds before returning to the front desk.

The man there informed you that Arthur had headed back outside after placing your belongings in your room. You frowned in confusion, following in Arthur’s footsteps and walking back outside towards the horses.

You didn’t have to look far. Stopping in your tracks as you caught sight of him. Large, muscular arms flexing in the late afternoon sun as he ran a grooming brush over your horse’s rump. You watched for a second, smiling involuntarily before walking closer.

He turned at the sounds of your footsteps, pausing his work and looking you over briefly.

You could have sworn you’d seen his face change momentarily. Cheeks growing rosy as he turned away from you and began to speak.

“Hope you don’t mind.” He said casually, petting horse’s side as he continued to groom her. “I gave Bo a once over and I figured YH/N could use one too.”

“Thank you.” You said quickly, guilt rising in your stomach that you hadn’t even considered your horse. You’d been so keen to get yourself clean you hadn’t even thought about your poor horse that had carried you all the way there.

“Don’t feel bad.” Arthur said quietly, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “I don’t usually go to this much effort. I just didn’t feel too much like sitting around in the room.”

“I wasn’t feeling bad.” You lied. “I was just coming out to give her some attention.” You said bluntly as you stepped up next to Arthur and petted your horse’s neck.

She snorted softly, looking to you for a moment before returning her attention to the food Arthur had left at her feet.

Arthur looked you up and down once more, quickly turning his attention back to the horse as you turned your attention on him.

“What?” You asked frankly, eyes roaming his form as he shrugged in response.

“Nothin’.” He answered, tucking the grooming brush back into his satchel and dusting off his hands. “Just don’t look like you was about to come outside and do some grooming.” He snickered, gesturing towards your fresh, clean clothes and damp, towel dried hair.

“Well I was.” You lied again, voice a little more firm than you’d have liked, causing him to smirk in response.

“Okay.” He conceded, holding up a hand to calm you before giving his horse a quick pet and turning back to the hotel. “it’s getting’ late.” He mumbled, gesturing with his head towards the door. “Should probably head to bed.”

You nodded in agreement, watching as a smile formed on his lips. You cocked your head in question and he chuckled softly.

“Well, you’ll head to bed.” He laughed. “I’ll head to floor, I suppose.”

You barked out a laugh, covering your mouth quickly and turning away to hide your embarrassment. Arthur seemed to feel accomplished in making you laugh. Smiling wider to himself as he headed inside.

You followed along behind him, feeling like an idiot.

~

Arthur opened the door and allowed you to move into the room first. You were surprised to see he’d already set up his bedroll on the floor next to the double bed in the middle of the room. You frowned at his haste as he locked the door behind you both.

You slipped off your boots and left them at the end of the bed. Crawling on top of the covers and positioning yourself on the left side, closest to Arthur’s bedroll as he took off his own boots.

You stared at your hands, eyes flicking up to see what was taking so long and shooting back down to your lap when you realised Arthur was unbuttoning his shirt.

You licked your lips, eyes darting back up once more. You inhaled softly as he pulled the fabric over his shoulders. The muscles in his broad chest shifting with him as he let the shirt fall to the floor and his hands moved to his belt.

You looked away quickly, swallowing hard as you listened to the clinking of his buckle as he worked the leather out of the loops in his jeans.

A soft clunk signified it had joined his shirt on the floor and you scolded yourself for having the urge to look up at him once more.

You resisted the temptation. Picking at the dirt under your fingernails as you heard him approach. A small, strained grunt accompanying his decent to his bed on the ground.

The silence in the room was deafening. You suddenly found yourself wishing you had brought a book. Anything to look at other than your own hands, the ceiling or… Arthur.

You turned to him intending to say your goodnights, surprised to find him studying you with curious eyes.

“What?” You asked a little too quickly, feeling flustered at his gaze.

“Ain’t you gonna get comfortable?” He asked, gesturing towards your outfit and making you look down at yourself uncertainly.

“I am comfortable.” You answered, confused.

“I mean, _more_ comfortable.” Arthur laughed, hands gesturing to his own bare chest and then back to you. “It ain’t comfortable to sleep in a shirt and jeans. I’ve tried.” He chuckled, feeling inexplicably flustered.

“I’m fine.” You answered tersely. Suddenly extremely irritated at the feel of your jeans cutting into your waste and feeling suffocated by the neck of your shirt. But the thought of stripping down to your undergarments in front of Arthur was too much to bear in that moment.

He already wasn’t interested in what he saw. No point in going out of your way to show him even more of your body.

“Okay.” Arthur replied with a shrug. “Just saying. You can if you want.” He remarked casually. “I ain’t leering you know?” He chuckled awkwardly, staring at his hands as the words left his mouth.

You smiled weakly, unable to stop yourself as the words fell from your own lips.

“Trust me, I know.” You mumbled, feeling your cheeks heat at the admission.

Arthur looked to you with furrowed brows, blue eyes filled with confusion as you turned away from him.

“What you mean by that?” He asked quietly, frown deepening as you shook your head at your own stupidity.

“Nothin’.” You said softly. “Nevermind.” You added as you slid down in the covers. Wishing for nothing more than to be able to pull them over your head and hide.

Arthur watched you for a moment longer before following your queue and slipping under his own blankets. Staring at the ceiling as he tried to figure out what you had meant.

Perhaps you were being sarcastic. Had you noticed the way he’d looked at your earlier? Had he made you feel uncomfortable with his gaze?

He mentally scolded himself. He had tried so hard to hide is quick glances but of course you had seen the way he was looking. He couldn’t help himself. The way your freshly washed hair framed your face was intoxicating.

Not to mention your choice of jeans. He’d been sure to walk in front of you on the way back to the room so he didn’t have to spend the entire time staring at the way the denim hugged your ass in those pants. They were his favourite of all the pants you owned. He couldn’t help but look twice when you stepped up next to him outside.

A silence descended upon the both of you as Arthur found himself lost in thoughts he would be ashamed of later. He cursed himself for making you feel uneasy. Selfishly wishing he could have kept his eyes to himself so he’d had the chance to see you in less clothing.

He wondered what kind of chemise you’d wear to bed if you were alone. Or perhaps you only wore a brassiere.

Arthur thought as his tongue darted out to lick as his dry lips.

He swallowed audibly, rolling to face away from you as felt the heat that had been rising on his cheeks travel lower, down his neck and towards more intimate places.

He’d already made you feel uncomfortable more than once today. He didn’t intend to be caught red-handed thinking sordid things about your body or more specifically, the things he would do to your body given the chance.

He was suddenly extremely grateful for his place on the floor. Unsure he would be able to hide his attraction to you if faced with the reality of sharing a bed.

He had found it hard enough to slip an arm around your waist at the front desk. To remain composed and casual while being that close to you. It had been torture.

He’d told Dutch from the beginning that they wouldn’t be able to sell the story. This con was going to fail. But without admitting his crush he was unable to give a strong reason why you two wouldn’t work well together.

He was pretty good at playing a part when he needed to but he wasn’t sure a person that had spent weeks dancing around his feelings for you could play the part of your new husband successfully without things getting awkward.

Dutch had put a lot of emphasis on how important it was that the two of you were in harmony to pull of your con. It was important that people believed you were in love. He stressed how imperative to the mission it was for you to be openly affectionate with one another and…

Arthur’s mouth fell open as realisation washed over him.

“Dutch you sly bastard.” He growled into the darkness. His hand coming up to rest over his eyes as he kicked himself for being so bloody stupid. “There’s no mission.” He whispered angrily, suddenly full of regret for his insistence at sleeping on the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked this one. If you did please consider clicking the kudos button. You don't even need to be logged in. Or leaving a nice comment! ♥


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